Evening. The sun dipped below the hills, painting the forest orange and gold.
Ember and Sylas trudged up the dirt road, carrying food supplies and looking generally exhausted.
Sylas: "Finally. Rooms booked, food bought, dignity mostly intact."
Ember: "Mostly?"
Sylas: "I tripped on a barrel and fell into a bucket. So, no. Not mostly."
They walked toward the campsite — only to see… flickering candlelight.
Whispers. Chanting.
And the entire group — Nyxar, Vespera, Bug, Spirit, Belos, and all the mini summons — gathered in a semi-circle… around several tiny holes in the ground.
Each hole had a little mound of dirt, a stick like a tombstone, and a flower petal stuck on top.
Tiny grave markers.
Bug stood in front, holding a leaf like a scroll.
Spirit sniffled dramatically beside him.
Vespera stood stoically, head bowed.
Nyxar looked solemn, grimmoire tucked under one arm like a priest.
Belos… was holding one of the mini bears like a mourning widow.
Ember blinked twice.
Sylas blinked fifteen times.
Sylas: "What in the actual—what's going on here?"
Ember (sighing): "Spirit… was this another mini war?"
Spirit (nodding gravely): "Yes… it was a spectacle. A beautifully tragic and devastatingly cinematic spectacle."
Ember facepalmed so hard it echoed.
Ember: "Sylas, this has happened before. Bug and Spirit love using the mini summons as soldiers for their imaginary wars."
Sylas: "You mean they… actually fight them?"
Ember: "No, it's all imaginary. But you'd never know it from the drama. The commanders this time…"
(she gestures at the little graveyard)
"...were Bella and the Jaguar."
Belos, wiping a fake tear, added softly:
Belos: "It was so beautiful… I've never seen such bravery… such sacrifice."
Sylas looked horrified.
Sylas: "W-wait, so this wasn't real?!"
Ember: "Nope. Just really, really realistic pretend."
Sylas: "Then why does it look like they actually buried them?"
Ember: "Because they did."
Narrator: "Somewhere, an actual undertaker felt a disturbance in the force."
Nyxar and Vespera both stood silently beside the graves, staring with serious faces — trying, and failing, to act emotionally affected.
Vespera's eyebrow twitched in what might've been sadness… or confusion.
Nyxar's expression was so blank it looped back around to looking mournful.
Ember (sighing deeply): "And now, look at that. I missed it again. Dammit."
Bug steps forward, raising his leaf scroll dramatically.
Bug: "It is time…
to honor the fallen.
The sacrifices… shall not be forgotten."
He turned to Nyxar.
Bug (seriously): "Nyxar. It's time."
Sylas frowned, whispering to Ember:
Sylas: "What… does that mean?"
Ember (flatly): "Something stupid."
Nyxar stepped forward, holding his grimmoire.
The air darkened.
Black smoke began to rise from the book, swirling ominously.
Sylas: "H-hey… uh… what's he doing?"
Ember: "Waiting for the punchline."
The black mist expanded, surrounding Ember, Sylas, and the tiny graves.
Sylas's eyes went wide.
Sylas: "OH COME ON, I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR A DEMON RITUAL!"
Ember (calmly): "You'll get used to it."
The smoke thickened — the mini graves shook —
and from the earth, the tiny summons rose, eyes glowing black.
They shambled forward like the cutest zombie army ever imagined.
Tiny undead deer.
Mini zombie mantises.
Steel bears with one glowing eye.
Mini Jaguar with a dramatic limp.
They advanced toward Sylas and Ember.
The candles flickered.
The music got intense.
Sylas screamed.
Sylas: "AAAAAHHH THEY'RE COMING FOR ME!!!"
And then—
laughter.
Bug and Spirit fell over, laughing so hard they rolled on the ground, tears streaming down their tiny faces.
Belos was wheezing beside them.
Nyxar smirked and dismissed the spell — the black smoke dispersed, the summons turned to mist, and reabsorbed into the grimmoire… except for the 2 Mini bears, who calmly waddled back to Belos.
Vespera (raising an eyebrow): "...Was that a prank?"
Ember (crossing her arms): "Oh, it was a prank. Set up by those two idiots—" (points at Bug and Spirit, who are still laughing so hard they can't breathe)
"—and apparently approved by these two clowns." (points at Belos and Nyxar)
The laughter slowly died as Ember's voice dropped several octaves.
Her tone turned dark.
Ember: "Nice prank…
but that doesn't mean there won't be punishment."
The air went cold.
Even the crickets shut up.
Bug froze mid-laugh.
Spirit's smile twitched.
Belos slowly scooted behind the bears.
Narrator: "And in that moment… three souls understood what true fear was."
Nyxar blinked in surprise — then smirked proudly, nodding approvingly like a teacher watching a student finally master intimidation.
Even Vespera seemed impressed.
Meanwhile, Sylas was still sitting on the ground, pale as a ghost, trying to process that he was almost eaten by a zombie deer.
Vespera walked over, gently patted his head, and wrapped him in an awkward hug.
Vespera (monotone, but trying): "Shh. It's fine. You are not food."
Sylas (weakly): "Thanks…"
Wide shot of the aftermath:
Ember — arms crossed, glowing faintly, radiating fury like a firestorm waiting for an outlet.
Nyxar — proud, hands behind his back, like a parent admiring chaos well executed.
Vespera — hugging and comforting a trembling Sylas, her expression unreadable but soft.
Bug, Spirit, and Belos — clinging to each other like terrified kittens in front of a dragon.
Narrator: "And so, peace returned to the camp…
though three pranksters now lived in constant dread of Ember's wrath."